The stars sparkle in the twilight as Mount Rainier sits in the background on Monday, March 9, 2015, south of Elbe along state Route 7.
A study conducted by the National Park Service says that nearly 1.4 million visitors to Mount Rainier National Park contributed about $64.8 million to the economy in 2016. Those numbers include a full $50.7 million spent directly in the communities that surround Washington's hallmark mountain.
The study estimates that those tourist dollars supported roughly 650 local jobs in addition to the approximately 100 permanent and 175 seasonal staff who work directly for the park. Additionally, there are an estimated 450 commercial concessions service employees that work in or near the park in order to facilitate lodging, dining, mountaineer-led climbing and other essential visitor service operations.
In spite of a wet fall in the Puget Sound area, those visitation numbers are the largest turnout since visitation to Mount Rainier National Park peaked in the 1990s.
“Mount Rainier continues to provide a world-class travel destination for visitors from around the globe as well as residents of the Pacific Northwest,” said park Deputy Superintendent Tracy Swartout in a press release. “The Centennial was an opportunity to bring even greater awareness about the value of our nation’s National Parks to the American public, so while their destinations may be the national parks, millions of park visitors also connect with our local communities, providing a valuable economic investment in the area.”
According to the National Park Service press release, tourism to national parks is a dependable economic generator across the country, creating $10 for every $1 invested. Their report shows a total of $18.4 billion of direct spending in communities within 60 miles of a national park by 331 million park visitors across the country last year. That spending reportedly supported 318,000 jobs nationally with 271,544 of those jobs located in the so called “gateway communities” that surround the parks. The total estimated contribution to the U.S. economy was $34.9 billion.
The report estimated that lodging made up 31.2 percent of visitor expenses with food and beverages accounting for 27.2 percent of visitor spending. Gas and oil purchases made up 11.7 percent of total visitor spending, while admissions and fees accounted for 10.2 percent, souvenirs and other expenses made up 9.7 percent and local transportation made up 7.4 percent of visitor expenditures.
The information for Mount Rainier National Park was compiled in a peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis conducted by Catherine Cullinane Thomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service.
The full report is available for review online at go.nps.gov/vse.
